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About Us"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is today"- Chinese proverb
The Open Orchard Project connects communities through fruit and the planting of fruit trees in public places. These trees provide free fruit to local residents and greenery to our urban environments. |
Who We Are
Current ProjectsOur History |
Chair: Thomas Denhof
Secretary: Torla Evans Treasurer: Kat Lochmann Members: We have 5 other members who help us with our work Constitution: watch this space Open Orchard creates a community of fruit lovers and equips people to harvest local fruit, transform that into healthy products and sell it in local markets.
2016 was the most exciting year for Open Orchard. With funding from Lambeth Food Flagship's Gipsy Hill Project, we have a fantastic range of events and educational activities planned for you to get involved with. Throughout the summer and autumn we’ll be running lots of fruity events and we’d love you to join us. With your help we’ll be mapping, picking, making and planting fruit trees in and around Gipsy Hill. See our Events page for more information. What is Lambeth Food Flagship and the Gipsy Hill Project? Lambeth was awarded Food Flagship status in 2014. The programme is built on a vision of helping residents develop a love and knowledge of healthy and sustainable food. The Gipsy Hill Project is part of a wider network of initiatives in the borough that are working towards the goals of the Flagship. The project’s aim is to promote a resident-led approach to tackling food issues. With the support of projects like Open Orchard, locals are encouraged to learn about food systems and connect with opportunities in the area, like the gift of free fruit and the skills to pick and use it! For more information visit their website. The Open Orchard Project started in 2014 in West Norwood, with the help of The Openworks. A group of local citizens came together to plant 67 fruit trees in 9 public locations in and around West Norwood and Streatham Hill in south London.
All the mini-orchards were public land where local residents who took part in the tree planting and their on-going care. In October 2015 we became a constituted group with the aim of planting more public fruit trees. In June 2019 we changed our constitution in order to be able to plant non-fruit trees in addition to what we've always done so we can help with other planting schemes likewise. We rely entirely on donations and grant funding for our work. |